Amazon, internet retail behemoth company, announced this week it has entered into Japan’s renewable energy market. It secured a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Mitsubishi Corporation.
The PPA involves 22 megawatts of output from solar power plants that Japanese construction company West Holdings Corporation will build. The PPA is the first agreement of its kind between Amazon and Japan. According to the report, 450 separate solar power plants will deliver the power to Amazon Web Services’ data centers.
On the other hand, two subsidiaries of Mitsubishi Corporation are also involved. The Mitsubishi Corporation Energy Solutions and ElectroRoute. The former will assist in the construction of the plants, offering tech support to the solar facilities. The latter will forecast solar output and hedge imbalances in power generation.
The projects will begin commercial operation around April 2023. Although the deal is the first one between Amazon and Japan, it is, in fact, the second one between Amazon and Mitsubishi; following a prior agreement earlier this year for the delivery of power to Amazon from a Dutch wind farm.
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Amazon invests in The Nature Conservancy
In addition, as we have reported previously, Amazon has become the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world. Only in the U.S., it has 14 renewable energy purchase agreements, which advances the company’s pledge to power the 100% of its operations with green power by 2025.
Furthermore, globally, the company has more than 232 projects of renewable energy purchase, including 85 utility-scale wind and solar projects and 147 solar rooftops on facilities and stores worldwide. Back in June, the company announced 14 new projects in the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Spain.
Finally, to further advance its climate change commitments, Amazon announced earlier this week an investment in nature-based carbon removal solutions in Brazil. The company partnered with The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organization, to remove up to 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions through 2050.
